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Dovetail Commentary: Some
Do's and Don'ts in Picking Green Products Group
Certification: An Opportunity to Engage More Family Forests Production
from Forest-Derived Biomass in Minnesota
Green Building Standards Challenged by Authority on Environmental Impacts of Building Materials Aitkin
County Landowners Recognized for Forest Stewardship Some Do's and Don'ts in Picking Green Products
A significant challenge faced by individuals trying to improve their purchasing habits and trying to “green” their building practices is the difficulty in deciphering which products are truly green and which are not. Sorting through green claims is important to anyone dedicated to positive environmental change. With this in mind, I offer some simple “DOs” and “DON'Ts” of green purchasing. To
read the full commentary, click
here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All reports are
available online.
Kathryn Fernholz In its standard form, forest certification involves evaluating a single operation, whether it is a single landowner, land manager, or forestry company. However, there are also situations where a certification assessment involves a number of landowners, managers, or businesses. The certification of more than one independently owned operation under a single shared certificate is called group certification.
Group certification is a mechanism for achieving economic and operational efficiencies by issuing a single certificate for a pool of participants. Group certification is used in both forest management certification as well as chain-of-custody certification. A common example of forest management group certification is when a consulting forester holds and manages a certificate on behalf of a group of his or her clients. With chain-of-custody group certification, small business owners share a single certificate that collectively applies to their individual operations and products.
Certification of family forests is a way to help deliver the wood supplies that the marketplace is increasingly demanding, to recognize and reward the practice of responsible forestry on more acres, and to give family forest owners an opportunity to make a public statement about their values. Group certification can be a flexible and useful tool for engaging family forests and small forestry enterprises.
This report provides background information on forest management group certification and examples of existing group certificates in the United States. Opportunities and challenges associated with increasing the use of group certification are also discussed. To download the report, click here (pdf, 1 MB). An Assessment of the Potential for Bioenergy and Biochemicals Production from Forest-Derived Biomass in Minnesota A Report for the Blandin Foundation Vital Forests/Vital Communities Initiative and Iron Range Resources Prepared by Dr. Jim Bowyer and Dovetail Partners, Inc. and Dr. Shri Ramaswamy, Professor and Head, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota
Potential petroleum demand/supply imbalances pose a significant challenge for the people and economies of all regions, but particularly those regions such as Minnesota and the Lake States that do not have petroleum or other fossil fuel reserves. On the other hand, regions rich in biomass such as Minnesota and the Lake States may have a substantial opportunity going forward to ensure future energy supplies while enhancing economic growth. Current technology provides a number of options for conversion of biomass and other biomaterials to energy. The options available include direct firing for electrical generation, production of ethanol and bio-diesel, and use as a fuel in steam generation for either large-scale district heating or for powering manufacturing operations.
In
2005 renewables accounted for about 86 trillion Btu of Minnesota's energy
production, or about 7.1 percent of total energy consumption and in 2006
renewable energy production included about 11 percent of electricity,
10 percent of gasoline, and 2 percent of diesel. The
state currently ranks 4 th in production of wind energy, 4 th in production
of ethanol, and 8 th in production of biodiesel. To download the report, click here (pdf, 2.8 MB).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minneapolis, MN (09/26/07) - At a time when the home-buying public, architects, homebuilders, and government agencies are promoting “green” or environmentally friendly construction, a leading authority on the environmental impacts of building materials has challenged many of the assumptions and existing guidelines for so-called green construction. http://www.dovetailinc.org/dovetailnews92607.html Aitkin County Landowners Recognized for Forest Stewardship Aitkin, MN (9/17/07) - Aitkin, MN - The Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) hosted a forestry workshop on Saturday, September 8th. The workshop featured a tour of forestry practices and recent logging operations. The day also included recognition of the Aitkin County landowners who recently had their forests certified through the SWCD’s group certification program. “The group certification program offers woodland owners the opportunity to practice forest stewardship and market certified products,” says Dennis Thompson, District Forester with the Aitkin County SWCD. http://www.dovetailinc.org/AitkinSWCD91707.html Rural LEED Homes in Minnesota Face Unique Challenges Adam Johnson, The Legal Ledger (St. Paul, MN) August 16, 2007 In November, the U.S. Green Building Council will take its LEED for Homes program nationwide, allowing home builders and owners to officially certify houses that are eco-friendly and energy efficient. But as early adopters are finding, building a LEED home in a rural area presents unique challenges. The pilot program for the new certification, called LEED-H, has been extremely popular since it began in August 2005. To date, 7,600 projects have been registered nationwide, and more than 100 have completed certification. In Greenbush, a small town of 750 in northwestern Minnesota, Dovetail Partners is working to add another project to that tally. http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/747551.html
“The Outlook” is the monthly e-newsletter of Dovetail Partners Inc, a 501c3 non profit corporation. More than 10,000 people receive The Outlook each month. To
Subscribe, click here. Dovetail Partners is a highly skilled team that fosters sustainability and responsible behaviors by collaborating to develop unique concepts, systems, models, and programs. For
information about donating to Dovetail, click
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